Pancho Herrera

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Image:Herrerapancho.jpg

Juan Francisco Herrera Willavicencio

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.

Debut April 15, 1958
Final Game October 1, 1961
Born June 16, 1934 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Died April 28, 2005 in Miami, FL USA

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[edit] Biographical Information

Pancho Herrera played in the Negro Leagues, in Mexico, in the minor leagues, and in the major leagues.

He was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies from Kansas City in the Negro American League.

His three years in the major leagues were in 1958, 1960, and 1961. He hit .271 lifetime in the majors in nearly 1000 at-bats. He was 10th in the league in doubles in 1960, but he also set a record for strikeouts. A busy fellow, he was also among the leaders in hit-by-pitch, sacrifice flies, and grounded-into-double-plays.

He had the second highest batting average among the regulars on the 1960 Philadelphia Phillies, hitting .281 on a team which hit .239. His 17 home runs were by far the best on the team. He won the first base job from Ed Bouchee, who was traded away early in the season in a trade that brought Tony Taylor to the Phillies.

His 13 home runs in 1961 were second best on the team, and his .258 average was 15 points higher than the team average, but it was to be his last season in the big leagues. The next year he was in the International League, leading it in homers and RBI.

Roy Sievers became the new first baseman for the Phillies.